Manufacture of footwear



Aug. 20, 1935. G, RAY

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 12, 1952 G. M. RAY

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 20, 1935.

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR Filed July 12, 1952 Patented AugrZO, 1935 v UNITED, STATES PATENT], oFFic-E MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR George M. Ray, Newton, Mass, assignor to Bancroft-Walker Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 12, 1932, Serial No. 622,066

4. Claims. (01. 36 ,76)

This invention pertains to the manufacture of or the like, having properties in general similar footwear, and relates more especially to an imto those of the insole blank, its edge portions in proved insole useful, for example,'in making shoes effect constituting the'exposed surface of the inin which the outer sole is permanently attached sole structure at the shank. Preferably this -'5' by m'eans'of cement. In my prior Patent No. shield is assembled with and permanently se- 1,641,782, dated September 6, 1927, I have decured to the other parts of the composite insole scribed a shoe comprising an insole blank which, structure before the latter is mounted' on the before application to'the last, is provided with a last, although I contemplate its application therestiffmetallic shank piece curved longitudinally to at alater time .in the process, and obviously 10.. to conform to the curvature of the shank of the other attachingmeans than cement maybe emlast. This metallic shank piece is accurately poployed. sitioned upon the insole blank and is permanently In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have attached thereto by means of rivets or the like illustrated certain embodiments of the invention before the insole is assembled with the upper upon byway of example, g I y thelast." V 7 Fig. 1 is aplan view, partly broken away, illus-, I5 While'the patented construction is highly detrating a preferred embodiment of my improved sirable in the manufacture of shoes of the McKay composite insole; sewed or Littleway stapled type, I find that it Fig. 2 is a plan view of a length of material 7 possesses certain disadvantages when used in the suitablefor use in making the shield member of 20, manufacture of the kind of shoe in which the my improved insole; .L I I 20, outer sole is united to the shoe bottom by means Fig.13 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; of cement. In making the latter type of shoe, it is Fig. isa bottom plan view of a shield member customary to grind or otherwise abrade the botready for use in covering the shank stiffener tom material, or at least the marginal portion piece;

thereof, before application of the outer sole, so i Fig. 5 is a view of the bottom ofa' lasted shoe 25. as to provide a level and fibrous surface adapted embodying my improved composite insole, showto furnish a secure anchorage for the sole-ating the lasted-in margin of: the upper at thesharik ta'chi'ng cement. V I portion as having been abraded for the reception This abrading operation can be carried out of soleattachingadhesive;. r

3() without substantial difiiculty on shoes which have ig- 6 iS a S on On the line 66. of Fig. 5; 30. no-metallic shank stiffener member, or wherein F 7 18% bottom P View Of a Composite the shankstiffener is'attached after the abrading insole constructed in accordance with another operationis complete, and even upon shoes such embodiment of the present invention,"and with as disclosed in my aforesaid patent, providing a part of the shield element broken away to ex- 35, the shank portion of the shoe is of suflicient hibit the Parts beneath width. However, when shoes of the latter type Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section substantially on have; narrow shank portions, I find that the methe line 8-8 of Fig. 7 f A w tallic shank piece projectssomuch higher than Fig; 9 is a plan view of the shield member of the marginal inturned portion of the upperthat Fig. '7 before assembly with the other parts of 40. the'abrading wheel rides on the shank piece and e i ol 4 e i does not contact with the marginal upper mate- Fig. 10 is a section on the line l0l0 of .Fig. 9; rial enough to produce the desired results. a Fig. 11 is a section on the line Hl I of-F g- In accordance with the present invention, I and avoid this difficulty by the use of a shield which Fig. 12 is a view showing the appearance of the preferably formsa permanent part of the combottom of a lasted shoe embodying an insole of 45 V posite insole structure, but which covers and the'type illustrated inFig. '7, and showing the conceals the metallic shank piece and whose opmarginal portion of the shoebottom abraded and posite edge portions receive and support the in-' ready for" the reception of the outer'sole.

turned. marginal edges of the shoe upper from Referring to the drawings, the numeral'l desthe front end of-the shoe shank rearwardly'subignates an insole blank of any usual sheet mat 50" stantially to the heel end of the shoe. Thus the rial, such as leather, fiber board, orthe like and margin of the upper is properly exposed to the which is cut' from the material to 'a' shape subaction of the abrading wheel. This shield memstantially conforming to that of the bottom'of the ber is preferably made of some fibrous material, last upon which the shoe is to'be lasted. I I also 555 for example, leather, leather board, fiber board, provide a shank piece or stiffener 3 whiohis pref erably of the type disclosed in my Patent No. 1,641,782, above referred to, such stiifener being of steel or other suitably rigid material and curved longitudinally so as substantially to conform to the longitudinal curvature of the shank portion of the last. Preferably I also provide a sole stiffening member or tuck piece 2 which I prefer to make fromsheet material relatively stifier and harder than the insole blank I: and which is shaped substantially to conform to the heel portion of said insole blank. Such a sole stiffening member is disclosed in my above-mentioned patent, and in assembling the parts. is placed upon the rear part of the blank member I in substantial registry with the latter, and, the' ample by staples 4, or, if desired, by rivets, as-

shown in my patent referred to above.

' In accordance witli the preferred embodiment of my: invention I utilize 'a previously. prepared strip" of appropriate material, for example, leather, for making my shank. shielding member. as illustrated in Fig. 2, I may provide a strip 6 of indefinite length. which. may be prepared similarly: toordinary leather welting but which: has a centrally arranged longitudinally extending groove l of a. width and depth to accommodate the shank stiffener piece 3. Preferably this strip has its lateral margins beveled: as indicated at 8 soas to provideafeather edge. If desired; the grooved and beveled face of. the strip is coated with adhesive, for example, rubber cement C. Preferably the cement is of such a nature that it is not normally very sticky but will become adhesive when subjected to pressure or after treatment with'asolvent. The strip 6: may be made of any-desiredv length and may be coiled for convenience in handling. The adhesive may be applied to the entire strip, or may be'applied tothe individual shield members at any desired time before assembling with the other insole parts. Having provided-1 the strip 6', I nex-t proceed to cutoff suitablesections of the strip, as indicated at 9in. Fig. i for use as shield members. These sections 9= preferably arecut from the strip. 6 so as to provide beveled edge's'lfl' and H. respectively at the opposite ends of the shield member; If

desired, the. length' of the shield" member 9' may be suflicient toextend from one end to the other of theshank'stiflener piece 3- and. it should extend: at least throughoutthenarrowest portion of the insole shank, the width'of the strip 6 approximating the-.widtlr. ofithenarrowest portion of the insole shank. 1 Haring prepared the shield piece 9,. it is now assembled: with the parts I, 2: and: 3, as indicated in Fig. 1,--the opposed surfaces of the parts. 9

securely; ,{Ehe shield member thus; covers the shank niece and, "as indicated in Fig. 6, its under surface; l2, provides a smoothly rounded support Onto which: the lateral, margins of the upper U are. subsequentlylasted. Since the; transverse curvature of this surface I 2 is gradual, the lastedin margins l3 of the upper U are freely exposed to the abrading wheel or other device employed in roughening the shoe bottom, so that they may be roughened with the same ease and certainty as other portions ofthe' shoe bottom.

In the alternative construction illustrated in Figs. 7 to 12, I provide a shield member l5 preferably made from sheet material, for example, fiber board, and of a shape to conform substantially to that of the rear part of the blank l, the shield as here shown being of such length as to extendfrom the forward part of the shank portion of the member l to its extreme rear or heel end. The: shank end !6 of the part l5 prefer-ably is curved both transversely and longitudinally, as indicated in Figs. 10 and 11, respectively, the transverse curvature permitting this I shield member to be placed over the shank piece 3, as indicated in Fig. 7, with its lateral edges insubstantial contact with the edges of theblank l, while the-longitudinal curvature permits this shield to follow the longitudinal curvature of the shank: piece 3. Preferably the rear portion of the member i5 is substantially flat in order to lie closely in contact with. the rear part of thescle'stiffening member. 1

Theblank I, the sole stiffening member 2, and the shank ,piece 3 may first be assembled and permanently united by the staples 4 or equivalent, means, as above described, and then after placing the shield l5 over the member 2 and in registry with the rear part of the blank I, the shield may be secured permanently in position, as for example by the use of cement, indicated; at H in Fig. 8. However, other modes of attachingthis shield may be employed, and if desired, the same fastener elements may be used. for securing all of the parts in permanent union.

The composite insole thus provided, whether of the kind: shown in Figs. 1 or 7., is now employed in'making shoes in the same Way as in soles of ordinary construction;-for example, the insole is mounted upon the bottom of the last and secured in place by tacks, the upper is pulled over the last, and the margin M' of the upper is lasted in over the bottom face of the insole. After the lasting operation is complete the'marginal portion of the shoe bottom is subjected to a grinding or other abrading device E (Fig. 6-), so as to level it and provide a fibrous surface, as indicated at M in Fig. 5 or at ,l8-in Fig. 2, it being understood that as much'or as little of, the bottom surface may be abraded as is requisite, thereby to form a good anchorage for the outersole attaching cement.

When in the appended claims I refer toone part of the shoe as beneathflanother, I have reference to the relative arrangement of the parts when the shoe is right side up in the posi tion of-use. I

While I have herein disclosed certain desirable embodiments of the invention by way of examplel wish it to be understood that changes in size, shape, and relative proportion of. parts, as well asthe substitution of equivalent materials: and equivalent arrangements, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention- I claim:

1. A stripof sheet material of indefinite length for use in the preparation of shields for the-shank stiffener pieces of insoles, said strip comprising a length offlexible material of a width approxie mating the width of the narrowest part of the insole shank, said length of material having a longitudinally extending groove designed to receive a shank stiffener piece, and having beveled lateraledges coated with an adhesive for attaching it to the insole.

2. A strip of sheet material of indefinite length for use in the preparation of shields for stiffener shank pieces of insoles, said strip comprising a length of leather of a substantially uniform width approximating that of the narrow portion of the insole shank and having a longitudinal centrally disposed groove designed to receive a shank stiffener piece, said strip having beveled edges and having its grooved side coated with adhesive for attaching it to the insole.

3. A composite insole for shoes comprising a normally flexible insole blank substantially conforming in shape to a last bottom, a stiffening piece shaped substantially like the heel portion of the blank and disposed in registry with and at the under side of the blank, a shield of fibrous material substantially flat at its rear part and curved. both longitudinally and transversely at its forward part, said shield extending from the forepart of the shank portion of the blank substantially to the rear end of the latter and having its lateral edges substantially in registry with I the edge of the blank, the rear part of the shield being disposed beneath the stiffener,a stiff longitudinally curved shank piece having its forward part interposed between said blank and shield and its rear part interposed between the shield and stifiener, and fastening means permanently uniting the shank piece, stiffener and shield to the blank.

4. A composite insole for shoes comprising a blank shaped to conform substantially to a last bottom, a stiffening piece shaped substantially like the heel portion of the blank and disposed in'registry with and at the under side of the blank, a shield extending from the forward part of the shank portion of the blank rearwardly to the heel end of the latter, said shield being so shaped that its lateral edges substantially register with the edges of the blank, the rear part of said shield being disposed beneath the stiffener, a metallic shank piecehaving its forward part interposed between the blank and. shield and itsrear part interposed between the shield and stiffener, and fastener means permanently uniting the blank, stiffener, shield and shank piece.

GEORGE M. RAY; 

